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3 takeaways from Iowa’s humiliating Cy-Hawk loss to Iowa State
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Iowa will go down as one of the teams to have an upsetting Week 2 performance after the promise that the team displayed in Week 1. Instead of another strong performance, the offense regressed — hard — and came away looking lifeless against Iowa State.
This one stings even more because Iowa jumped out to a 13-0 lead, a start that could have looked even better had the Hawkeyes cashed in some opportunities in the red zone. In the end, those misses came back to haunt Kirk Ferentz’s program as Iowa State drilled a walk-off field goal for the 20-19 win.
It’s back to the drawing board for Iowa, and here are the key takeaways from a gut-wrencher:
Cade McNamara struggles
The passing attack still remains a work in progress for Iowa, in case there was any doubt. One week removed from looking accurate and healthy against Illinois State, Cade McNamara heavily struggled in the Cy-Hawk showdown.
When the game finally wrapped up, McNamara was 13-for-29 with just 99 yards passing and 2 interceptions. It should go without saying, but the Hawkeyes need more from their quarterback to stay afloat in the Big Ten race this fall.
It’s also an unacceptable performance for the veteran.
McNamara’s first interception jumpstarted Iowa State’s offense in the 3rd quarter, and the rest of the game was a disaster. Outside of a touchdown drive that was dominated by Kaleb Johnson, the rest of the offense looked lifeless.
At one point, the Hawkeyes produced a string of 3 straight 3-and-outs and 5 straight punts to end the game (Not counting the game’s final play with 1 second left on the clock). That’s the kind of outing fans were hoping ended with Brian Ferentz leaving Iowa City.
Regardless of who’s calling the plays, that cannot happen for a team looking to compete. And the good news is the loss doesn’t derail Iowa’s standing in the B1G, but it certainly puts a dent in a team that has a defense worth of competing for a spot in the backend of the College Football Playoff.
Kaleb Johnson is the MVP
There’s no denying Iowa’s MVP in this one. It’s Kaleb Johnson in a landslide after a dominant effort from the star running back.
Johnson hit the ground running — literally — in this one and never looked back. He finished the game with 25 carries for 187 yards and 2 major touchdowns for the Hawkeyes.
No matter the game, those are some elite-level numbers from Johnson, and it goes down as the 2nd-most rushing yards for Johnson in a single game. His career high is 200 yards in a game against Purdue.
Without the aid of an effective passing game against Iowa State, Iowa leaned on Johnson but came up just short in the end.
Jay Higgins leads key defensive performance
It is no surprise to anyone who watches Iowa, but veteran linebacker Jay Higgins came up with some key moments of the game for the defense. He led the Hawkeyes with 11 total tackles and 6 solo stops, but it was his work in pass coverage that was also a factor.
Higgins came away with a first-half interception that set Iowa up well inside Iowa State territory. That drive would ultimately stall out short of the end zone, but it resulted in a field goal for the Hawkeyes.
Considering the final score, that’s the kind of big-time moment early in the game that cannot be overlooked.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.